The When You're Ready Project is a community for survivors of sexual violence to share their stories and have their voices heard, finding strength in one another. When you're ready to share your story, we'll be here.

It is March 2nd 2017 and today the news is filled with the story of an intoxicated and unconscious woman who was raped by a cab driver in Halifax, Canada. The rape was witnessed by a police officer. Yet the Judge still acquitted the rapist. I am angry every time I hear of cases where rapists get away and victim blaming is rampant. This one, however, hit home. The situation is so much like mine.

I don’t want to have to tell people and feel their judging eyes stare at me while I talk, and I feel guilty that I wasn’t held at gun point against my will. I feel like I could have stopped it at any time and I didn’t so that makes me just as wrong. I know thats not true I really do and if someone else told me their story and it matched mine word for word I would tell them over and over it wasn’t their fault and that should have never happened to you, you have no reason to feel ashamed and I would truly believe it.

It happen with my kids in the next room; he grabbed me and pulled me by my arms .My head hitting the floor I was dragged into the closet.He then pulled his pants down put his penis in my mouth forcing me to perform oral sex on him.After that he put one hand over …

Every time I was running/or pushing him away, we were facing his anger. It was everyday story. I remember sitting in the corner of my cousin’s room, scared, closed eyes, covering my ears while he was screaming my name outside. To calm him down, my grandparents and his wife makes me sit next to him in living room. Where he was touching my thighs, trying to kiss me, rotating my face to look at him. I can’t forget his scary face and laugh. No one was stopping him, he was coming to my room every other night.